Bib with pocket



Nov. 28, 1961 H; J. RALPH 3,010,111

BIB WITH POCKET Filed March 311959 INVENTOR, HARO/. J. RALPH BY M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,010,111 BIB WITH POCKET Harold J. Ralph, San Mateo, Calif. (81 College Ave., Los Gatos, Calif.) Filed Mar. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 796,809 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-49) 'I'his invention relates to bibs having a pocket horizontally transversely across the lower portion thereof, and more particularly to such bibs in which a horizontally disposed pocket may be selectively held open or closed by pliable relatively spaced form-retaining integral strips each of which being bendable upon itself at an acutely angled arc to provide a pair of vertically disposed legs in substantially overlying layers, each leg being enclosed and bendable in an elongated strip tube in the bib pocket portion of the bib.

An object of the invention is to provide a moistureimpervious washable bib conveniently flexibly foldable in any direction, and having a bib pocket at a lower end which may be selectively opened and closed and main-V tained at such selective open or closed position.

A more particular description of the invention is set forth in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. l is a front elevational view of one form of the invention, partly broken away.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged Vertical section transversely on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal section;

on line 3 3 of FIG. l.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a vertically sectioned fragmentary perspective view lof a modified form of the invention, enlarged in relation to FIG. l.

FIG. 6 is a section on line l6 6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of bendable strip member shown in both exemplified forms of the invention.-

Referring to the drawing in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views, and referring firstly to FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7, the reference character 10 indicates a bib body generally comprising a sheet of flexible material preferably impervious to penetration by moisture, and suitably formed of a suitable exible sheet plastic, since such material may have its parts conveniently connected by either stitching or dielectric sealing, as is well known.

The bib comprises an upper breast portion 11 of such flexible sheet material, and may have at its upper edge portion an arcuately cut-out or ,opening 12 for encircling the neck of `the wearer, as well as the usual tie strings 13, and may, if desired, be provided with shoulder wings 12a for covering the shoulders of the wearer, though these shoulder wings are elective and are not essential to the effective parts of the invention.

At one face of the lower portion of the breast portion 11 there is an elongated transverse horizontal pocket which, in FIGS. l to 4, is an integral continuation of the Vsingle sheet of flexible body material of the breast portion, which at said lower portion may be folded or retroverted upwardly upon itself at an angle as at 15a to overlie the lower part of the breast portion, and preferably having its upfolded free terminal longitudinal horizontal edge thickened to resist wear and tearing by an integrally formed reinforcing rib I6, which is therefore also flexible, the opposite ends of the upfolded pocket being suitably securely closed, as by a closing plastic weld 17, thus providing the bib pocket with relatively opposed and relatively angularly connected planar front wall 14 and rear wall 19 integral with the 3,019,111 Patented Nov. 28, lgl

tinuous strip tubes 1S, which are vertically or laterallyl y transverse to the longitudinal horizontal bib pocket. In iFIGS. l to 4, each of the strip tubes comprises an elongated fleXible planar strip 18a preferably of material similar to the plastic bib material, said flexible strips overlying and being adhered by intimate plastic welding of the side edges and end edges thereof to the opposed walls of the bib pocket, preferably at the inner opposed faces o-f the pocket, whereby there is provided an elongated central portion of the said strips which is free of such welding and thereby provides `the relatively flat continuous elongated strip tubes 18. The strip tubes 18 follow the contour of the bib pocket for the entire depth of each of the opposed walls of the bib pocket, the opposite ends of the strip tubes terminating closely adjacent to the upper edges of the bib pocket portion, the strip tubes of front wall 14 terminating slightly short of the free terminal edge of said front wall, and the strip tubes of the rear wall 19 preferably extending slightly beyond the upper edge of the bib pocket.

Within each of the elongated strip tubes 18 and eX- tending the length thereof, there is mounted an elongated strip 20 of pliantly bendable inert material, preferably metal, which is inherently form-retaining when bent, such as strip-lead, strip-copper or tinner thin sheet metal, which are also rust-resistant, or other similar suitable compounded pliant non-spring strip metals available in the commercial market. In the formed bib the strip 26 is angularly bent upon litself centrally intermediate of its length, as at 21, the angular bend substantially conforming to the angle of the connected pocket walls at the bottom of the pocket, but the angle directly at said bend being in an arc rather than at an acute angle, in order to avoid fatigue and crystallization of the metal strip from repeated bending, such bending providing in the metal strip a pair of angularly disposed legs 22, 23 the planes of which substantially overlie relatively, the rear leg 23 preferably being slightly longer than the front leg 22, 'whereby the front leg 22 terminates adjacent to `the upper free edge of the bib pocket, and the rear leg 23 extends into the breast portion of the bib slightly above the said pocket edge. The bendable strips 2? are slightly narrower than the strip tubes 18 so that they slide readily thereinto when the bib sheet and strips Ztl are in aligned flat planar form, one end of the strip tubes being maintained open for sliding the strips 20 thereinto, and the end of the strip tube being thereupon sealed, Awhereupon the bib sheet and strips 20 may be suitably bent upon themselves, as will be further described, the strip tubes and the strips 20 being thus positioned vertically transversely relative to the horizontal longitudinally elongated pocket.

In operation, the bib is employed in the usual manner of pocketed bibs of over-all flexible material, but due to the pliability and form-retaining qualit-ies of the lstrips 2li, the pocket may be selectively opened or closed by respectively relatively spreading or closing the free terminal end portions of the legs 22, 23 at the angular connection 21 thereof, which, due lto the form-retaining quality of the strips, will maintain such selective position until readjusted to an alternate selective position.

It is to be observed that the strips 2n are shielded by bib material to provide against possibility of injury to a child wearing the bib, and further, that the bib may pocket may be a separate sheet overlying the welds 34 of the modilication of left op en be packed liatly substantially in a plane by closing the pocket and the legs 22, 23- of the-pliant strips 20 as shown in broken lines of FIIG. 2; or, When the legs are thus closed, and due to the relative spacing of the said strips, and the over-all flexibility of the breastfsheet and pocket, the bib may be folded or crumpled between and around the strip legs, either vertically, horizontally or in any other desired direction for dat or crushed or folded packing in a receptacle or storage space such as a handbag, a suit pocket, glove compartment of an automobile, or the like.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 a modiflied form of bib structure is shown in which the breast portion 11 and the operational parts are substantially similar to thosehereinabove described, the modification being inproviding a bib pocket 30 the opposing Walls of -which are relatively overlying sheets of the flexible moisture-impervious plastic sheet material, -as indicated 311, -3l2,the -inner sheet 3K1 being a continuation of the breast portion L1 retroverted upon itself at 33. i The outer sheet 32 of the bib bib pocket portion ofthe inner sheet 31, said inner `and outer sheets of the pocket being suitably sealed relatively Iat the upper longitudinal edges of the front and rear walls of the pocket Iportion, and at the opposite ends of the pocket, as at 34V and 35, the entire body of the bib other than the vpliant strips being freely liexible for folding or crumpling, as previously described.

The strip tubes v36 are provided in the Walls of the bib pocket by stitc'hingor plastic welding'together of the overlying sheets of-.the pocket material at edges of the strip tubes as at 37,' leaving one end of the strip tubes open for inserting the bendable strips' 20 therein, and thereupon sea-ling the said tube end opening, after inserting the bendable strips 20 therein.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5 the longitudinal length of the upper portion of the fron-t wall of the pocket coupled with the secure closing of the opposite ends of the pocket, and more particularly, the adjacent spaced relation of the respect-ive pliant strips to the opposite end closures of the pockets, limits the pliant relative spreading movement of the legs 22, 23` away from each other, to an acute-angle relationship to a normal flatplane of the breast sheet and the integral rear-ward wall of the pocket, which, in general is substantially the normal position of the breast sheet when the bib is positioned on -a wearer. However, since the strips 20 are pliant it is to be under-stood that the legs of the strips 20 may be spread to a greater extent by alsosuiciently deforming the breast sheet portion and the flexible rear wall of the pocket when the lbib is not being worn by a wearer, such facility for a greater wid-th of opening of ythe pocket being very advantageous for cleaning and washing the inside of the pocket, when the bib is not being worn by a wearer.

It is to be observed that in forming: the bib it is preferred that the strips'20 shall be inserted into the strip tubes in aligned form while the'bi-b sheet is in flat planar form, the -strip tubes and preferably also the longitudinal FIGS. 5 and 6, having been formed therein and one end of the strip tubes being for the purpose of inserting the strip-s 20 therein. The bib pocket portion and the strips 20 are then bent upon themselves into the overlying relation as described, Whereupon the opposite ends of the bib pocket and the remaining open end of the strip tubes may be sealed. To provide the arcuate bend Z1( in the strip 20, the bending of the strip may be around a tubular rod of appropriately small diameter.

It is to be further understood that while dielectric plastic welding has been described in the specification,

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and patentable is:

1. A bib of llexible sheet material having an upper breast sheet portion, a horizontally transverse elongated bib pocket at the lower portion of the breast sheet, said pocket having a front 'Walleof flexible sheet material overlying a lowerportionV of one face of the breast sheet providing relativelyoverlying opposed liexible front and rear walls connected at the bottom of the pocket, said pocket having its opposite ends and a lower longitudinal edge securely closed and bein-g open at its opposite upper longitudinal edgepor-tion, the .upper free edge of said front Wall being freely flexible, and angularly bent strips of pliant' inert material spaced from the opposite ends of the pocket and spaced relative to each other, each of said stripshaving legs which respectively engage the said t front and rear wal-ls of the bib pocketv laterally 4transversely of the length of the lelongated pocket and extending from the bottom of the bib pocket towards the upper edge portion thereof and termina-ting adjacent to the upper open edge portion of the pocket, said pliant strips .f Vof `bendable lmaterial being inherently `form-retaining when bent,-wherebysaid pocket opening maybe selecbe substituted therefor, such as stitching.

tively held -at open and closed positions responsive to the selective bending-of said strips, said breast sheet and pocket portions being freely flexible -throughout the area `thereof other thanfthe area occupied. by said pliantstrips, Y whereby said freely flexible portion may be manipulated to selective shapes and forms around said pliant strips. 2., A bib of the character described as set forthl in claim 1, the said bib pocket being of weldable plastic material -and having relatively spaced strip tubes' of ilexible weldable plasticwrnaterial plastically welded to its relatively opposed Ifront and rear walls, said strip tubes extending from the .bottoniy oi the .pocket to substantially the upperA portion of the pocket, and said pliant strips being mounted in said strip tubes.

3. A bib of flexible sheet material'as set forth in 'claim 1, the walls of the 'pocket being connected angularly at the bottom of the pocket, said pliant strips being angularly bent substantially conformable to said angle of the overlying flexible walls of the pocket, and said respective angled portions ofthe pocket and pliant strips being-engaged relatively at the bottom of the pocket, the length of the upper portion of the front wall of the pocket and the closing of the opposite ends of the pocket and-the spacing4 of the respective-pliant strip members frornl adjacentV ends-of the pocket being related and arranged whereby the movement of the legs of the respective pliant strips away from each other is limited to `an acute angular position relative to a normal liat plane of the breast sheet.

" References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 677,010 Ziller June 25, 1901 1,516,590 Dorsey Nov, 25, 1924 1,591,721 -Melvin July 6, 1926 1,970,307 Hartmann Aug. 14, 1934 2,517,357 Schlegel Aug. 1, 1950 2,551,907 Serebrin May 8, 1951 2,688,750 Y Mink Sept. 14; 1954 vv2,727,240 Marshall Dec. 20, 1955 FORElGN PATENTS 669,608 France Aug. 5, 1929 

